Post driving attachment for post hole diggers



April 30, 1946.

:ROSS REFERENCE SEARCH KUL Filed Dec. 29, 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet l V 23 24 22 37 0&4;

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0. D. KELLY April 30, 1946.

POST DRIVING ATTACHMENT FOR POST HOLE DIGGERS Filed Dec. 29, 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

I I I I I I I I I I I Once/v D #54; Y

Patented A r. so, 1940 ros'r narvmo anaemia-r none means FOB POST Owen D. Kelly, loyllll. Application December 29, 1944, Serial No. 570,488

7 Claims. ;(Cl. 1-74) My present invention relates to a mechanism for driving posts and more especially metal posts,

the same being particularly adapted for use in connection with a post hole digger. Among the objects of this invention are to provide a complete mechanism so that one who has one of these machines will be equipped to set the' posts rapidly for a fence, whether these be wooden or metallic: to

provide a mechanical structure for the driving of metal posts, quicklyand with a of effort; to provide an automatically functioning apparatus for the p pose indicated which will raise the driving weight to the upper limit of its metion and then automatically drop the weight whenever it reaches its said upper'limit'; and such further objects, advantages, and capabilities as will hereafter appear andas are inherent in the construction disclosed herein. My'inventi'on further resides in the combination, construction, and arrangement of parts illustrated in the accompanying drawings and, while I have shown therein what is now regarded as the preferred embodiment of this invention, I desire the same to be understood as illustrative only and not to be interpreted in a limiting sense.

In the drawings annexed hereto and forming a part hereof,

Fig. 1 shows a front view of my combined post hole digger and post driver, in conjunction with a. partial front elevation of a tractor:

Fig. 2 shows a right side elevation of the structure shown in Fig. I";

Fig. 3 shows a horizontal plan section through the gear housing of the mechanism for operating the winding drum and turning the auger; and

Fig. 4 represents a transverse section substantially along the plane indicated by the line 4-4, Fig. 2. v

While I have sh a tractor I, having rear wheels 2 and front w is}, it wilibe understood that this is for purposes of illustration only and that I do not intend that the claims be limited to the use of any particular tractor. This tractor is providerd with atransverse opening. extendopening is placed a shaft'or pipe [upon which the post hole mechanism and post driver may be mounted and carried. A sleeve I is slippedion the shaft or pipe 4 and has supporting melnbers 6 a housing 8; This ho s hfi I is held in place in the trough l by means of straps 9 bolted to the trough,

by b1t5 s I l are secured to the housing I so that they engage the straps l and prevent ionhousing is a shaft ll, on the inner end of which is mounted a belt pulley II which is connected to a pulley If by a belt I. The pulley I; is driven from the power unit of the tractor and, through the shaft il inthe housing I, furnishes the power to drive the ring. gear Ila-which drives the auger II and the winding drum Ii. The shaft i1 is ."shown inFig..3.

Theauger l! is cani'edand driven by a shaft Ila passing through the ring gear Ila.. A guide post or housing. I! M romthe top of the gear housing ll andservesasslguidefor theeahaft Ila and-the bar 2| passing through the guide sleeve II, on theside of the gear ll. Most of the structure thus far described'l's concerned with the drivinil and guiding of theatre; butinost of it relates alsotothepcst driven, a Asis clearfrom Fig.1. the'guidingepost fi isfmad'e. up of twoparts which are. substantially parallel and between which the angular shaft Ila moves up and down.

Across the top of the post 2| is fastened a cross- .bar :2 which may be made up from a.pair of plates secured together or from a/bar having slots a t-inits two ends for. the reception of the pulleys 23 and 24. Over these pulleys runs.a cable 25, one end of which is secured to the driving weight fl andthe other to the drum it. On this cable 25 is a tri member 21 so arranged that itwill en- 80 Ease the fork 2! through which the cable passes.

The two ends of the bar 22 are closed, as shown at" lnFlgJ, to prevent the cable from becoming detached from the pulleys 23 and IL A guiding tube 80, of the form; shown in Figs.

35 hand 4', is secured to the-crossbar IIv by a bracket 3i, and to the ear housing is by a'bracket 12. A gusset 33 connects the bracket 32 to the guiding tube and thereforethis tube is rigidly mounted with respect to the rest of the machine. The

so opening-3| in the side of the tube 3| furnishes a means for insertlngthe post 85. If the post is not driven down far enough to clear the bottom of the'tube II, the tractor may be driven ahead untilfth'ef tube ll clears the post II which can slip 'ing through the bottom partthereof, andfin this 45 through thelopeningjl; J

- 7 As indicated aboverithe end of the cable" is rising therefrom to a t ough l in whichis mounted secured to and wound on the drum it which is freeto turn-en the shaft I provided near its 'endwith a cross; pin 31'. Lugs II are located on the forward enduof the It and; cooperate with. the pin llginformiifi'a driving clutch betweenjtheshaftljljand the Onthfe seeone or inherent! of this shaft ii is a bevel pinion a which meshes with the ring'gear Isa. The

gitudinal shifting of the housing. Inside of this 66 shaft it passes through aball bearing. as shown in Fig. 2, and, therefore, driving friction is reducedtoaminimum. Thebearinghousingll inwhichtheballbearingislocatedls connected to the side of the gear housing I. and has a bracket ll extending outwardly therefrom in which is a pivot member 42. A crank arm 43 is operatively connected to the fork II and the clutch shifter 44 so that when the fork 28 is turned about the axis of the pivot 42, the drum II will be shifted longitudinally of the shaft N. A shifting rod 4| is connected to the upper end of the crank 43 and extends back into the vicinity of the driver's seat. When the rod ll is pulled, it causes the clutch shifter 44 to move the flange ll forwardly. This is connected with the drum I! and therefore moves this against the pin II with the lugs 38 alternating therewith. Rotation of the shaft 38 now causes drum I to rotate and wind the cable 2| thereon. When the trip member 21 engages the fork 28, it causes the rod ll to be pulled forwardly and the flange 4G to be moved backwardly, taking the lugs ll out of engagement with the pin 81. Under the influence of the weight 2', the cable 25 is unwound from the drum II, the weight falling through the tube 3| upon the post dl therein. As the post is driven down, the weight It goes farther down in the tube and the trip 21 goes farther up toward the pulley 24.

, From the foregoing it will be seen that I have provided a mechanism which is easy to operate, inexpensive to produce, and semi-automatic in its operation.

It will of course be understood that the specific description of structure set forth above may be departed from without departing from the spirit of this invention as set forth herein and in the appended claims.

Having now described my invention, I claim:

1. In a structure for the purpose indicated, to be attached to a tractor, supporting means to be supported at the side of a tractor, a housing supported by said supporting means, a drive shaft enclosed in said housing, a drive pulley connected to said drive shaft to cause rotation thereof, said pulley being connected in driving relation to the power unit of the tractor, a gear housing connected to and supported by the first .theshaftmayberotatedagearhomingcom' shaft to the power unitfcf the tractor whereby nected toand supportedbythefirsthominga second shaft extending forwardly from the gear housing. gearing in said gear housing connecting said shafts in driving relation, a winding drum on the front end of the second shaft, clutch mechanism connecting the drum and its shaft in driving relation and capable of releasing them from such relation, actuating mechanism for said clutch mechanism, a supporting post extending above the gear housing, a pulley supported by said post, a weight-guiding member supported adjacent said post, a weight slidabie in relation to said weight-guiding member, a cable connected to said weight, passing over the pulley and downtothedmmtobewoundthereontoraise the weight, and means for releasing the weight so it will fall.

3. In a post driver, a gear housing, a post holdingandguiding unitadiacentandconnectedto said housing, a supporting post rising above said housing, a cross-arm connected to the upper part of said supporting post and supporting one or as more pulleys, a driving weight associated with the mentioned housing. the drive shaft extending into the gear housing, a shaft extending said housing from the front and extending forwardly therefrom, a winding drum on the last mentioned shaft, a clutch mechanism for connecting said drum and its shaft in driving relation, a post rising from said gear housing, supporting means connected to the upper part of said post, the last mentioned supporting means extending transversely of the post and having pulleys adjacent its ends. a cable wound on said drum and extending up to one of said pulleys and across the tops of both of them and then downwardly, a driving weight suspended from said downwardly-extending end of said cable, a weight-guiding tube supported by the gear housing and post assembly and containing said weight which is freely slidable therein under the infiuence of gravity, and means for actuating said clutch to cause driving connection between the winding drum and the first mentioned shaft.

2. In a post driver for attachment to a tractor, having an opening for reception of a supporting bar; a bar in said opening, a supporting frame mounted on said bar, a housing supported by said supporting frame, a drive shaft rotatably mounted in said housing, driving means connecting said intogn said drum being mounted on said shaft and beingrotatable either with or independently of the shaft, a clutch mechanism for connecting the drum to the shaft for rotation therewith, or disconnecting it therefrom, means in connection.

with the cable for actuating the clutch to disconnect the drum from driving engagement with its shaft when the driving weight has been raised adesired distance, means extending from the vicinity of the driver's seat of the tractor to the clutch actuating means whereby the driver of the tractor may actuate the clutch to cause the drum to wind the cable thereon, and driving connections between said shaft and the power unit of the tractor for transmitting actuating force to the shaft.

4. An attachment for a post hole digger comprising, in combination, a supporting and guiding post, a gear casing on which said post is moimted and from which it rises a substantial distance, gearing in said casing, driving means connecting said gearing to a shaft-driving means, post-gold ing means connected to and supported by said gear casing and said post, a driving weight in said post guide, a cable connected to said weight and passing over anti-friction means mounted on said post, a shaft driven by the gearing in the gear casing, a drum on said shaft, means for connecting this shaft and drum in driving relation, means for automaticall disconnecting the drum and shaft when the weight has been raised to a predetermined height, and manual means for connecting said drum and its shaft in driving relation.

5. Means for mounting a post driver on a tractor, comprising a shaft projecting from a side of the tractor, a supporting frame mounted thereon and extending upwardly therefrom, a shaft casing supported by said frame, and post-driving mechanism supported by said casing.

6. A tractor-supported and operated farm implement comprising a gear casing. gearing therein, a shaft housing supporting said casing, a drivin shaft therein connected with and operating said gearing, a driving connection between said shaft and the tractor power unit, supporting means ior supporting said shalt housing upon the tractor, a shait extending outwardly from said casing and having on one end thereof one of the gears in said casing, the last mentioned shaft having on its projecting end a cable-winding drum, slidable along the shaft, clutch means for connecting the drum and its shaft in releasable driving relation, a post-driving weight, and a cable for raising said weight, said cable being windable upon said drum when the clutch is enneed.

7. Actuating means for a post-driver comprising a shaft to be connected in driving relation to the power unit oi a tractor, a driving connection between said shaft and said power unit tor causing rotation oi the shaft, a ahait-houaing'aupportedbythetractorandhousingsaidshaiha gear casing connected to said housing. said shaft extending into said casing and having a bevel gear thereon, a second shait extending into said casing and having a bevel gear thereon within the casing, a third bevel gear within the casing connecting the first and second gears in driving relation. a cable-winding drum on the projecting end 0! the second shaft, said drum and its shalt being movable longitudinally. relatively to each other, a poet-driving weight, a cable connecting the winding drum and the weight to cause raising of the weight when the cable is wound on the drum, and means for stopping the raising of the weight at a predetermined point and ensuring that it will be dropped when stopped.

OWEN D. KELLY. 

